Charles Rahn
Panelists speak to Columbia students about their career paths at The Hive in the 618 S. Michigan Ave. building on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
The Careers in the Arts Panel was hosted at The Hive at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 10. Students came to see alumni and other people established in their fields speak on networking, taking advantage of opportunities and more. A networking hour, hosted by the SVA Student Council, followed the panel.
The panelists all work in the arts in one form or another. Whitney LaMora is an art consultant for hospitality businesses. Carlos Delgado, a 2016 alum, is a fabricator at Ravenswood Studio. Candice Hemphill, a 2019 alum, is an operations manager at Artist Communities Alliance. Giselle Torres, a 2022 alum, is an educator and communications manager at Wrightwood 659.
Hemphill talked about how she ended up in a job she did not originally see herself in.
“It was not my goal to end up there [at operations management]. When I was a senior at Columbia, I was doing my internships with galleries and that was the dream, to be the next Bette Porter. But that didn’t work out,” Hemphill said in the panel.
Hemphill explained that not getting the dream career happens.
“When you have your dream be one thing and then you try it out and it doesn’t work, it’s okay. There’s another path you can follow and I still get to consider myself as art world adjacent. I send money to artists and artist residencies every day of the week, so I am still supporting the fields and just not doing it in the way that I envisioned,” Hemphill said during the panel.
Hemphill also mentioned the importance of being open to anything.
“One point I would make is to say yes to your opportunities because it might not be what you think it’s going to look like, but you can still make your way in this art world,” Hemphill said in the panel.
Torres also said students don’t have to do art full-time.
“I feel like people have the misconception that you have to be a full-time artist to make a living, but you can also be an artist and have supplemental income that helps you be the best artist that you can be. You don’t have to pick one or the other,” Torres said.
Junior music major Xitlalit Garcia said she had debated coming but ended up being grateful that she did.
“I just knew that coming to something that would just give me information would be really helpful. And I’m really glad that I came to this,” Garcia said. “I feel a little bit more confident after hearing what they said, just because with the struggles that they’ve had, I feel like I relate to them, and as well with everyone else in the room, I’m pretty sure we can all relate.”
Junior illustration major Logan Garcia, who said he struggles with networking, said he appreciated the advice about that.
“I really like that they gave more specific dos and don’ts rather than general, be a good person, have social skills,” Garcia said.
Garcia also said he feels more confident in general, even about the little things.
“It makes me feel really confident about this business email I have to write later tonight. So I guess when they were talking about getting used to writing emails, I’m in that phase of my career right now. I needed to hear that,” Garcia said.
Torres said something she wishes someone had told her younger self is not to compare herself to other artists.
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” Torres said.
Copy edited by Trinity Balboa
Resumen en Español:
Un panel de carreras en las artes se llevó a cabo en The Hive a las 4 p.m. el jueves, 10 de mayo. Los estudiantes vinieron a ver a ex alumnos y otras personas establecidas en sus campos hablar sobre la creación de redes, aprovechar las oportunidades y más. Una hora de establecimiento de contactos, organizada por el Consejo Estudiantil de SVA, siguió el panel a las 5 p.m.
Resumen en Español por Araceli Ramirez
Resumen editado por Manuel Nocera